Food Porn and Hangovers 2

DISCLAIMER: The sound is a little bit better, still haven’t figured it out quite yet, so bear with me.

Japan:

I love Japanese food, with a passion, there’s something about raw food, rice noodles, weird looking ingredients, seaweed, preserved tofu, etc, that just gets me going. I also like the fact that when i go to a Japanese market or order at a Japanese restaurants, just by voicing out the words, i actually feel like i can speak Japanese.

Okonomiyaki. Oh Oko, why are you so good. This word derives from Okonomi which means “what you like” and yaki meaning “grilled”. What I like grilled? Sounds good to me, count me in! These are savoury pancakes prepared on flat top grills associated to the regions of Kansai and Hiroshima; all the toppings vary depending on the region. Most Okonomiyaki restaurants serve theirs, traditionally with a cabbage based pancake, some fish or shrimp flakes, ground pork, raw eggs some dried seaweed and enough ketchup/mayo to deplete the stocks of McDonalds.

Japan remains one of the countries in Asia I have yet to discover, I was lucky enough to have a layover in Tokyo one day on my way to Russia. It’s early in the morning (1.30AM) there are bunch of restaurants in the airport and I was in heaven; me and Japanese food are in an intimate relationship. So I see this sign Okonomiyaki, I have no idea what it is, but it smells like sin, so I sit down at the kitchen/bar and order. Even though, I’ve never been into the Japanese cities, this meal alone was able to transport me into them. My variation as follows:

This dish will insure you your happy ending; we make you happy long time… ( I don’t know why I just wrote that)

Okonomiyaki (pancake): in a bowl, 1 handful of sliced green beans, 1 handful of chopped nappa cabbage, &frac12; chopped onion, 1 diced garlic clove, 1 grated carrot, 1 chopped leek, 1 handful of coriander, 1 big pinch of salt and pepper, 1 &frac14; cup of flour, &frac34; cup of water, &frac12; grated Nagaimo (or kamote, or potato, or sweet potato). More salt. Try to find the consistency of a pancake batter by adding more flour to make it thicker and more water if you need it to be more liquid (i’m sorry i suck with measurements).

Cook:

Boil one corn on the cob in salted water. Start with the pancake, cook until a wooden spike comes out clean, brown on both sides. Take your pork from your mixture and grill or fry until caramelized (they should already be very soft from the boiling), if you don’t have a grill and don’t want to lose that flavour, set your oven to broil and cook it there. Take your shrimp and spot fry for 2 minutes until nice and golden/orange, flambee with Grand Marnier.

Plate:

On your plate, place your shrimp on some chopped coriander, or a thai style salad if you want to, placed the pulled pork (removed from the bones) onto your pancake with the corn, you can also drizzle some of the cooking juices on top. For the sauce, simply take a small dipping bowl fill it with soy sauce, add some slivers of ginger and a cut chilli.

Stop. Admire. Eat!

Next week preview: “My family and I used to spend a lot of winters in Canada, more specifically in Montreal, Quebec. Yes, the region that claims it speaks better French than us (Real) French people, don’t even get me started on that… One of the many things they do right though is this little heart attack of a dish served in Styrofoam bowls, usually eaten in the dead of winter after a fresh snowboarding session (…)”

hazelJune 14, 2011 at 3:38 am

best okonomiyaki is in osaka! i hope you’ll be able to explore japan more (not only on layovers). the food is great, the culture is fascinating and the sights and sounds are incredible. i’m speaking not as a tourist who just visited for a few days but as someone who has lived there for two years. enjoy your okonomiyaki!

Belle RoleJune 30, 2011 at 6:02 pm

Wow. I’m really impressed. Man, you can cook! (Very well, actually) Did you take cooking lessons or are you self-taught? Your Okonomiyaki plus pulled pork ribs looks savory, by the way. (And I bet it tastes good too!) @.@

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about THE FAT KID

I gained weight because of a sedentary lifestyle and overly indulging in foods I knew were bad for me, eating out too often, taking the easy route (microwavable dishes) and not caring what went in my body, before I knew it reached 240 lbs. I lost weight through pure dedication, tireless hours of hard work and yes, food. I cooked my way to fitness, making sure to only feed myself tasty well prepared dishes with all the right stuff, the perfect fuel, taking me down to 150lbs. Of course I indulge from time to time, as the fat kid still lurks inside of me; here you will find a little bit of everything for the sole purpose of sharing my passion for food and life.